Aviance Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,323,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,321,493,000 after purchasing an additional 672,404 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,209,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,345,000 after acquiring an additional 34,999 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,308,316,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,139,872,000 after acquiring an additional 90,842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded down $0.74 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $258.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 91,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 861,360. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $251.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $56.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.49, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $212.39 and a 12-month high of $266.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,717 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $2,240,269.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at $11,485,587. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AJG. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $263.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.